Beer Man: Czech brewery produces a beer that Budweiser can't touch

Apr. 17, 2013

Written by

Todd Haefer

For Post-Crescent Media

Praga Dark Lager

Once upon a time, in 1795, a brewery in what is now the Czech Republic started operations. It made a beer with the Budweiser name that was shipped to the U.S. several years before Anheuser-Busch started producing a beer with the same moniker in St. Louis.

In recent years, after more than a century of legal tussling over trademarks, the brewery sold its rights to the Budweiser name to AB InBev, the foreign-based company that now owns the Budweiser brand, and the Czech brewery is now named Pivovar Samson.

Praga Dark Lager is a beer that it has resurrected from its archives, and it did not surprise me in the least that it is to the U.S.-made Budweiser what filet mignon is to hamburger.

Its initial aromas of sweet malt and floral Saaz hops were enticing. Its thick head slowly dissipated, but didnít completely disappear, as a creamy top layer remained over the dark brown body that sparkled with red highlights.

The malt flavor profile contained a slight roast with a bit more chocolate note than caramel. The beer was sweeter than the norm, but not annoying, mostly due to a nicely balanced hop bitterness that didnít linger, but tempered the sugars, and provided some dryness and a clean finish. It was tasty, smooth, quenching and everything else a good beer should be. All this and it has essentially the same alcohol content as the current Budweiser.

Praga Dark tastes very different from bock beer and also from German dunkels, in large part because of that tad extra sweetness. Itís a beer that in a just universe would be crowding the shelves of the nationís stores instead of the sort-of beer that currently dominates them.

Praga is imported by Global Beer Network, which has an impressive portfolio that includes some of the top Belgian imports, such as Piraat, Wittekerke and Gulden Draak. Global has distribution in 47 states; its online Beer Finder is here: www.globalbeer.com/where-to-buy-our-beers.

Beer Man sez: Praga Dark Lager is a fine example of the Czech and European lager brewing tradition.